Inside world of Lagos female commercial tricycle riders

In Lagos, operating a tricycle as a transportation business is no longer the exclusive preserve of men. Daily Trust on Sunday reports Deborah Sanni, by her own account to Daily Trust on Sunday, is a graduate of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria. Two years after graduation residing in Lagos State and still jobless, she […]

In Lagos, operating a tricycle as a transportation business is no longer the exclusive preserve of men. Daily Trust on Sunday reports

Deborah Sanni, by her own account to Daily Trust on Sunday, is a graduate of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria. Two years after graduation residing in Lagos State and still jobless, she got employment as a teacher in a private primary school.

“It was the last thing I wanted to do,” she told our reporters, adding, “I didn’t like teaching in the first place, and to worsen it, the salary was ridiculously low. It just couldn’t take me anywhere.” 

Sanni started thinking of other legitimate things she could do to earn more money. The idea of paid employment had flown out of her mind.

One day, early this year, heading to work, she boarded a commercial tricycle (keke, as it is widely called) operated by a young girl. Both ladies started talking about the economic situation in the country and before Sanni knew it, a germ of an idea had begun to germinate in her mind. She subtly began to borrow ideas on the business from the tricycle rider and before she alighted, her decision had been firmly formed. 

“I found it as a perfect fit to my yearning. I, thereafter, sought where to learn to ride a tricycle, found one and learnt it in five days,” she said.

Sanni also said she was enlightened on passenger routes. She then proceeded on how to actively begin operation. She hadn’t the financial means to buy her own tricycle, new or second-hand, right away so she took to hiring one. From 6 in the morning, she would work till 5 in the evening, taking off an hour in the afternoon for lunch and a rest. At the end of the day, she would remit N1500 to the owner of the tricycle. After paying that delivery return, she would go home with N3000, sometimes N4000 or even more. 

Sanni’s face exudes so much self-satisfaction it needed no telling her impression about her new status. She stated that her earnings as a keke rider were far rewardingly higher than what she called the peanuts she was earning as the salary she was collecting from teaching. 

However, the business has not been without its challenges. Sanni spoke of the menace of touts and officials of the State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA), who, she lamented, disturb commercial tricycle operators almost always. 

She also said the flow of income can be affected by the occasional torrential flood on the roads. According to her, whenever it rains heavily, she is compelled to stay off work till the rain subsides well enough for a smooth ride and the comfort of her passengers. 

Beyond those “minor challenges”, as she put it, commercial tricycle business, is lucrative, saying she has always been relatively financially buoyant since she ventured into it five months ago.

“So far, I have been enjoying a smooth ride. Whenever there is a problem, my male colleagues are there to assist. In fact the assistance they cannot render to their fellow men, they will render to us their female colleagues,” she added.

But for a lady, and a graduate at that, wasn’t she uncomfortable in the beginning doing this kind of business that many of her fellow female graduates would consider infra dignitatem? No, she responded, saying she was resolved to be self-engaged in a legitimate job that is financially rewarding, even if moderately.

Another female rider, Mrs Oluwaranti Ajayi, told Daily Trust on Sunday that she went into the commercial tricycle business because she wanted to be different. That though, she admitted, arose from her dissatisfaction with the returns on the investment she was hitherto engaged in. 

“I was into buying and selling and the profit was not that much, and sometimes, the Lagos State government task force men would come and lock our shops. The rent on that shop rent alone was prohibitive. That’s why I took the option of this keke business,” she said.

A school certificate holder, Ajayi, who has been in the commercial business keke for one and a half years, said she collected her tricycle on loan, which she has since offset entirely and the tricycle is now entirely hers.

 She said, “I thank God because since I started this business, I have never had any issue with any of my passengers because of the way I relate with them. My passengers appreciate the way I drive them; some tell me I drive like a man.” 

 On how much she takes home on a daily basis, Mrs. Ajayi said it depends on passenger traffic. “After paying all necessary charges, I go home with N5000, and sometimes more,” she said.

She recalled how her husband initially opposed her venture into the commercial tricycle business, “but when he started witnessing my gains from the business, he began to support me.“

Ajayi, however, declared she would not be in the keke business for too long, saying she would be going back to her original business once she has made enough money to refloat it. 

Mrs. Theresa Ogochukwu, a Higher National Diploma holder, was trading in tricycle parts when she was single and, relating with the male commercial riders who were patronising her, had observed how lucrative the keke business can be. “I started this business because of the profit. Before I got married, I was selling keke parts and noticed that there was profit in it. I then decided to go into the business. I sold everything in my shop to buy the keke for my business,“ she explained.

Mrs. Ogochukwu said she makes up to a gross sum of N9000 or more a day, depending on “passengers’ rush”. After she must have settled all the day’s expenses, she goes home with about N7000. 

Narrating the reaction of many male passengers when they see her behind the handle, she said, “Many of my passengers are always shocked seeing me as the rider. Some, still not sure, will ask, ‘Are you the one driving?’ And I will say yes. I relate with my passengers very well, I also relate with my male colleagues cordially and they all respect me as a woman among them.”

She admitted it has not been easy combining the demand of the work and pressures in her matrimonial home. “To meet up with the challenge, I will wake up as early as 4.30am to start preparing breakfast for the entire family and the children for school,” she said.

Saying it’s all worth it, she disclosed she pays N15,000 every month for her child’s day care fee, adding that her husband has been supportive “from day one.”

Like Sanni, Mrs Ogochukwu expressed her grievances on the activities of touts and LASTMA officials. 

Ganiyat Busari said she could have searched for paid employment or started petty trading, but conscious of the meagre salaries that come with salary jobs, she began to think of convenient alternatives.

“I was inspired when I saw a lady like me riding the tricycle at the Agege Pen Cinema area. I can do any work so far it will fetch me money. I have no reason to be shy. The passion I have for this business made me to collect the tricycle on loan from a microfinance bank. We agreed on instalmental payment: I would be remitting N16,100 every week. So far, I have repaid up to N900,000 and it remains only N150,000 for me to be free,” she said.

Busari recalled that her happiest day on the job was when she was in a traffic hold-up and a white man saw her, approached her, commended her and gave her money because, as the man explained, he was marvelled seeing an Alhaja operating a commercial keke. She said her passengers who witnessed the moment also asked her to keep the balance of the fares they paid.

Busari further said, “Since the 11 months that I have been in this business, I have had no problem with my male colleagues, let alone having problems with my passengers.  I keep all the dos and don’ts of the business. I love the job because I make up to N5000 to N6000 daily, and that is even because I don’t work for long before I go home. I have achieved much despite the loan I am paying back to the bank. I am doing this business only in the meantime to save money to start my real craft as a designer.”

Corroborating that tricycle riders experience hardship in the hands of touts, LASTMA officials and the police, she added that if well handled, these people can sometimes be nice.

Another female rider, Taiwo Saidi, told Daily Trust on Sunday that she started the commercial keke business a year and six months ago, noting that she was inspired to do so by other female riders. “I collected the tricycle on a hire purchase term of N850,000. We agreed I would be remitting N15,000 every week, and presently, it remains N160,000 for me to pay up,” she said.

Saidi, who is married with kids, said she’s been able to juggle work and family well. ”I woke up early to prepare my children for school around 7.30am, and start operating by 8am. I close by 6pm because of my children.

“My husband supports me well. That gives me the courage and boldness to move on in the business. My achievement so far is that I am able to support my family, especially my husband, in feeding the family and paying the children’s school fees,” she said.

Taiwo Paseda, a married woman with two kids, said, “I decided to venture into this business because my former business was not profitable. My husband at first disagreed with me on starting the business, but he later accepted that I should start it to support the family.

“I started with a loan from a bank, with an agreement to pay N16,000 every week. I am just two months old in the business. I don’t have any issue with my passengers and my male colleagues. They actually assist me in many areas and come to my aid each time I need them.

“After paying all my dues, I go home with about N1500 daily. I am doing this business for a short period. Once I have enough savings to start up a business, I’ll quit.

Tosin Agbaje, a passenger in a tricycle, who our correspondent spoke with, expressed his satisfaction with the way commercial female tricycle riders have been comporting themselves. “They ride even better than their male counterparts. The first time I boarded a tricycle driven by a woman, I was watching her ability, and somehow I was afraid. But she did not disappoint me. She did well.”

Daily Trust on Sunday spoke with the chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Tricycle Unit, at Ojodu and Ikeja, Alhaji Ahmed Jatto, who praised the female drivers, saying they have been compliant with the union’s rules and regulations. 

“We usually advise and encourage them on this business that they have decided to do. We let them know they have to be strong mentally and physically, and must obey the rules and regulations of the association. We usually give them a two-week training to prepare them well enough for the business,” Jatto said.